Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अनेन विद्धो मातज़्ो महानेकेषुणा हतः । सुवर्णकक्ष: संग्रामे दन्‍्ताभ्यामगमन्महीम्‌,युद्धमें इनके एक ही बाणसे घायल होकर विकर्णका विशाल गजराज, जो सोनेकी साँकलसे सुशोभित था, धरतीपर दोनों दाँत टेककर मर गया

Transliteration

anena viddho mātaṅgo mahān ekeṣuṇā hataḥ | suvarṇakakṣaḥ saṅgrāme dantābhyām agaman mahīm ||

Translation

അവന്റെ ഒരൊറ്റ അമ്പാൽ വേദനപ്പെട്ട്, സ്വർണ്ണകക്ഷം ധരിച്ചിരുന്ന ആ മഹാഗജരാജാവ് യുദ്ധത്തിൽ ഹതനായി; രണ്ടു ദന്തങ്ങളിൽ ചായ்ந்து ഭൂമിയിലേക്കു വീണു.

Word by Word

अनेनby this (weapon/arrow)

विद्धःpierced/wounded

मातङ्गःelephant

महान्great, huge

एकेषुणाwith a single arrow

हतःslain, killed

सुवर्णकक्षःhaving a golden girth/strap (gold-belted)

संग्रामेin battle

दन्ताभ्याम्with (his) two tusks

अगमत्went, reached

महीम्the earth/ground

Speaker

उत्तर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Uttara

war-elephant (mātaṅga)

single arrow (eka iṣu)

golden girth/strap (suvarṇa-kakṣa)

battlefield (saṅgrāma)

earth/ground (mahī)

tusks (danta)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the severe reality of battle: strength, size, and royal adornment do not guarantee safety. Martial prowess, when applied in war, produces swift and irreversible outcomes, urging sobriety about the ethical weight of combat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Uttara describes a battlefield moment where a great war-elephant, decorated with a golden harness, is struck and killed by a single arrow and collapses to the ground, coming down upon its tusks.